Chapter 32
Sweet Subterfuge
Larissa contemplated for a very long time before finally summoning the courage to call Travis.
Yet, despite having made several calls in a row, Travis never answered.
At night, when Larissa returned home after work, she was stopped by someone at the entrance of Foxtail Garden.
The sky was getting dark, and the figure stood against the light. All Larissa could make out was a skinny figure, her arms outstretched.
It seemed to be a woman.
Before she could cause any accidents, Larissa slammed on the brakes.
Her car stopped about ten feet away from the figure.
Larissa was stunned for about two seconds before she felt her heart rate slow to a normal pace.
When sheâd recovered from her shock and looked back to where the figure was standing earlier, there was only dust dancing under the dim, yellowish light. Where had the figure gone?
Larissa was questioning if what she had seen was nothing but a hallucination when she heard the sound of someone trying to pull her car door open at the passengerâs side. And when whoever it was realized that they couldnât pry open her door, they started knocking on her window frantically.
âOpen the door! Open the fucking door!â The woman shouted from the outside, her voice urgent and sharp. Her pitch was so high that her voice cracked.
The glass on her door was reflective, but Larissa could not properly discern the womanâs features.
Instead, the hazy reflection on the glass showed a dark silhouette with disheveled long hairâit was a rather terrifying sight.
Larissa did not believe in ghosts or supernatural creatures, but when faced with something like this in the middle of the night, she couldnât help but feel her scalp tingle as her skin crawled with goosebumps.
âWhoâWho are you?â She wrapped her arms around herself and asked, her body trembling.
The woman ignored her question and kept on shouting, âOpen the door! Open the door! Just open the damn door!â
Naturally, Larissa did not open the door.
She didnât even dare to roll down her car window as she tried to turn her car keys, her hands shaking.
The car started to move again slowly. Taking into consideration the person who was just outside her car, she stepped on the gas pedal lightly.
The woman followed her closely, her palms repeatedly hitting Larissaâs car window two times harder than before.
âOpen the door! Open the door!â
The womanâs shouts sounded like the devilâs chants in her ears. Larissa gritted her teeth and tried to not listen.
When she had finally reached the entrance, the guard did not raise the barricade as he usually did.
Larissa had no choice but to stop the car again.
She rolled down the window at the driverâs side halfway, just enough for her to make eye contact with the security guard in the guardhouse.
The guard shot her an apologetic look as he explained, âThat woman beside your car is not a resident of Foxtail Garden. She tried to force her way in, and we called the police after we failed to reason with her. Donât worry, the police are on their way. If you could just wait for a moment until she leaves, Miss, Iâll let you in after that.â
As a majority of Foxtail Gardenâs residents hailed from upperâclass or elite backgrounds and were high society figures, the security in that area was especially tight. Outsiders who wished to enter either had to use an access card or have a relative or friend who lived inside let them in.
Evidently, the woman had no access card and knew no one inside who could let her 1. in.
Larissa suddenly understood why she had been so adamant about prying her car door open earlier.
She supposed the woman had wanted to hitch a ride with her to enter Foxtail Garden.
The woman seemed to be provoked by the security guardâs words. She continued pounding against Larissaâs car door while shouting, âIâve told you multiple times already! My uncle lives in there! His name is Skylar Fox! He lives on the 25th floor of Block 12! If you donât believe me, you can give him a call yourself and ask him if he has a niece called Amber!â
As soon as she heard the name âSkylar Foxâ, Larissa froze. And then, when she heard the name âAmberââ
The two of them were indeed related.
No wonder she had run into Amber and Travis in Foxtail Garden last time.
Larissa immediately closed her window tightly and retrieved a cap from the storage compartment. She pulled the cap low on her head just so that Amber wouldnât recognize her.
She wasnât remotely afraid of what Amber would do to her. It was just⦠It was better to be safe than sorry.
The guard repeated what heâd said before exasperatedly, âWe donât have the contact numbers of our residents. Miss, if your uncle really lives here, could you please give him a call and have him come down and meet you here?â
Amber screamed. âIf I had been able to get through to him, why else would I be here, you motherfucking bastard?â
She rushed past Larissaâs car like a gust of wind and clung to the window of the guardhouse.